Ario Tours
Ario Tours
4.9
Full view
About
Hacienda Ario is a working, family owned ranch and encompasses approximately 1900 ha (or 4500 acres) on the coast in the heart of the Nicoya Peninsula. It is a magical place where the Guanacaste sabanero culture is still a way of life. Hacienda Ario has been working for over a decade to create a model for sustainable development where a rural, healthy living and horses are a integral and essential part of life. Share and unforgettable experience riding on a deserted beach and specatacular natural landscapes of rivers, mountains and forest accompanied by local cowboys and bilingual nature guide. Best Horse Tour in Costa Rica!
Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
Meets animal welfare guidelines
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingSimilar Experiences
Travelers talk about
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.9
93 reviews
Excellent
88
Very good
3
Average
2
Poor
0
Terrible
0
Hana A
San Diego, CA21 contributions
Jul 2023
We spent the afternoon at Ario and the views were pretty amazing and it was very diverse. The horses were calm and really easy to ride. Lester, our guide, was really wonderful and kind. He was generous with his time and efforts and really made sure the entire family was doing well on the ride. I recommend bug spray, water, snacks and closed shoes as well as pants if you can tolerate heat.
Written July 12, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Suzie Rose
5 contributions
May 2022
Excellent, our horses were extremely well behaved, the route we went on was beautiful - we saw the farm, jungle, a lake, and the beach. Our guides were very knowledgeable and you can tell they really care about the animals and conservation. On our ride we also saw monkeys, iguanas, and a crocodile. It lasted around 2 hours. Highly recommend!
Written May 16, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stefan N
2 contributions
Aug 2023 • Family
Awesome, friendly staff, gorgeous trained, beautiful horses, bilingual guide with a lot of explanations to flora, fauna and history. Very personal and great for kids. It was a wonderful and magic day, riding through forest and on the beach.
Written August 28, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
foreveronvacationer
London, UK13 contributions
Feb 2025 • Business
2 of us, non riders, were supported by 2 experience riders who were friendly and helpful, particularly the Costa Rican guy. Leave a good amount of time to get to the stables, otherwise you may be met by some irritated comments upon arrival.
The horseback tour was fun, through the forest and onto the beach, lasting around 1.5 hours. All in all very good but don't rely on the guides to follow up and send on the photos they take of you as promised. Despite exchanging details and messaging them, the photos were never forthcoming, do make sure you take your own photos!! Perhaps the 10% tip, over and above the cost of the tour, was not adequate in their eyes.
The horseback tour was fun, through the forest and onto the beach, lasting around 1.5 hours. All in all very good but don't rely on the guides to follow up and send on the photos they take of you as promised. Despite exchanging details and messaging them, the photos were never forthcoming, do make sure you take your own photos!! Perhaps the 10% tip, over and above the cost of the tour, was not adequate in their eyes.
Written February 28, 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
kristaj0
Oujda, Morocco19 contributions
May 2016 • Couples
I feel so lucky we had the chance to visit Ario Tours on our honeymoon. My new husband has only been horseback riding once (and it didn't go well), but the horses were very sweet and easy to deal with so he had no problem. The scenery is incredible -- riding through everything from ranch, to native forest, rivers, mountains, beach... truly an unforgettable experience. The family business running Ario Tours has also clearly done lots to give back to the community, including regrowing native plants and training for environmentally conscious farming, all of which you can really tell from the tour. Highly recommend!
Written June 12, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for sharing! we work everyday to give something back to the environment, community and of course our wonderful riders. Hope you can come back again!
Written June 13, 2016
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Dani K
san diego33 contributions
May 2015 • Solo
I was back in Santa Teresa and decided to book another ride with Ario Horse Tour. (I think you can see my first review somewhere on this site.) The first ride was amazing, but the second trip was even better. The bi-lingual guide, Casey, took me on a totally different experience through a Costa Rican family owned cattle ranch, the jungle, rivers, and along the ocean. The ride lasted about two hours and was worth every penny.
Written June 14, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dani K
san diego33 contributions
Mar 2013 • Friends
Tour is fabulous! The guide, Casey, was fluent in English and Spanish. It doesn't matter if you are an experienced or a novice rider. They will select an appropriate horse for you and make sure that the tour stays in your comfort zone. Each tour is adapted to your interests. They have different tours, that go through the jungle and the beach. Casey identified the local plants and even spotted some monkeys that he pointed out to us. We had such a good time that we went again later in the week. Second tour was different, and we even stopped for a beer at a little cabana (be sure to have some cash on you if you want to stop for a beer.) Tour was easy to book--either through hotel or by calling directly (506) 2640 0880. The company is very flexible in making arrangements.
Written October 25, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DJ S
Devon, UK8 contributions
Sep 2017
We rang ahead to say that we were experienced riders and would like to go on a personal tour (2 of us). There was some miscommunication according to our guide as he thought we were beginners so had chose his two most docile ponies. This was fine but I think the ride would have been better if this had not been the case. The drive through the ranch requires a 4 wheel drive and some gumption at the moment as the road is very muddy and churned up. Apparently this is not normally the case but a water supply to the area has been kindly helped by the owners and the work has affected the road. The ponies were waiting for us when we turned up in a lovely field with small tack rooms and rails for horses. The cowboy was wonderful - extremely knowledgeable, kind and lovely. Allowed our children a quick ride on the horse which they loved. My friend and I had a lovely ride down to the beach. There were some lovely spots of views and the deserted beach was stunning. The ponies were good for inexperienced riders. They were docile and dependable - perfect for people who want a good hack. They are well cared - hooves in excellent condition and prepared well. I would certainly go back - there was something magical about this place. We had a lovely canter along the beach. The only negative was that it was quite hard work getting Pinto (my pony) to look lively. I got blisters from using my legs so much but I should have bought riding boots! There are no riding helmets here (which is quite liberating and certainly did not worry about this).
Written September 5, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Keri G
Huntington Beach, CA33 contributions
Jul 2015 • Family
We have ridden horses all over Costa Rica (and the U.S.), and this was by far the best experience we have ever had! This farm is gorgeous, the horses are beautifully kept (roaming the farm!), and the ride takes you through jungle (complete with 5 troupes of howlers), through farming grasslands, over the hilltops to enjoy the valley and ocean at once, and then the ride on the pristine beach caps it all off! Absolutely incredible!
Written July 22, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gorgigirl
Atlanta, GA12 contributions
May 2019 • Business
We experienced a Horseback Ride with Hacienda Ario, a working, family-owned ranch with 5,000 acres on the Pacific. The tour includes a bilingual nature guide and cowboy who guide you through rivers, mountains, forests, farms and ends with a ride on the beach. It was incredible and our guide Douglas was so knowledgeable and kept us safe at all times. After he found out that one of the people in our group could not come with us because she was so badly sunburned, he cut two big pieces of an aloe plant and made the 30 minute or more drive to bring it to us. We learned about how he is training in natural horsemanship which fits perfectly with the ranch’s sustainability model for rural, healthy lifestyle in which horses are essential to the way of life. There is something magical about riding a horse on the beach with the ocean waves crashing at their hooves. Don’t miss this!
Written June 19, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi! Ive been trying to reach you to book a ride ! Which email can I contact you on? Kindest regards Hanna
Written February 21, 2020
Hi! How much horse riding experience do we need to do this? Thanks! Barbara
Written January 8, 2020
Tienen tours cortos maximo de una hora? En la playa? Gracias
Written July 12, 2018
how much are tours for two people or groups? Do you take credit cards? And do you have a website?
Written May 28, 2018
This answer wouldn’t allow a web site link. Google Ario Tours Costa Rica. They will answer your questions. Have fun!
Written May 28, 2018
Esteban V
Heredia, Costa Rica
Hi folks,
i am staying at the ATRAPASUEÑOS HOTEL this weekend and i would like to visit your rach and do a bit of horseback ridding, a couple of questions:
can you do a reservation for just 2 people?
how long from the hotel is the Rach?
how much would that tour cost?
thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.
Cheers!!!
Written September 1, 2016
Hello Esteban, thank you very much for contacting us. We can offer availability for tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM. We are located about 25 minutes away from Atrapa Sueños. Please feel free to give us a call to coordinate (506) 8777 2319.
Thank you.
Written September 2, 2016
We have 2 1/2 and 4 1/2 yr old children. Do you do tours for this age if they ride on the same horse as us?
Written February 22, 2016
Hello and thank you for your inquiry. for 2 1/2 and 4 1/2 we ask to ride with their parents.
Thank you
Written February 23, 2016
Showing results 1-6 of 6
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.